Rouhani urges U.S. to drop "hostile" policies towards Iran

Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-23 00:15:31|Editor: Liangyu

IRAN-TEHRAN-ROUHANI-U.S.-"HOSTILE" POLICIES-DROPPING

Iran's re-elected President Hassan Rouhani gestures during a press conference in Tehran, capital of Iran, on May 22, 2017. Iran's re-elected President Hassan Rouhani said Monday that United States should drop its "hostile" policies towards the Islamic republic. (Xinhua/Ahmad Halabisaz)

Written by Hassan Rouhvand

TEHRAN, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Iran's re-elected President Hassan Rouhani said Monday that United States should drop its "hostile" policies towards the Islamic republic.

In the past, "Iran and the United States have experienced bends and turns in their relations, and the United States has always failed in its polices, including exerting pressures and sanctions" against Iran, Rouhani said in his presser following the Friday landslide victory in the country's presidential election.

"The Americans have also made mistakes in their attack on Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as their stance on Syria and Yemen," he said.

Asked about the possibility of direct talks with the United Sattes over the mutual issues, the Iranian president said that "we are waiting for the U.S. new administration to settle, so that we could have accurate view about the ruling group in Washington."

The United States has no other way but to think of "a win-win approach vis-a-vis Iran, otherwise, they will fail," he said.

On Monday, Iran's Foreign Ministry also dismissed the recent anti-Iran claims by the U.S. officials as "hostile and baseless," the ministry's website reported.

"The U.S. president's meddling, repetitive and baseless claims against Iran are aimed at Iranophebia and are in line with the U.S. hostile policies against the Islamic republic, seeking to persuade the regional countries to buy more arms from the United States," Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi said.

The U.S. stance against Iran is "deceptive and destructive" and attempts to undermine the sovereignty of the regional states besides supporting Israel, Qasemi said.

"Unfortunately, some regional states are looking for the support of the superpowers instead of relying on their own nation and the potentials of regional cooperation," he said, adding that such an approach will result in the destruction of the infrastructures of the regional countries, including Syria and Yemen, by the terrorist groups.

The Iranian spokesmen urged the U.S. officials to stop, what he called, "rising tensions, intervention, Iranophebia, and selling weapons to the supporters of terrorism."

Earlier on the day, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that U.S. President Donald Trump's recent anti-Iran remarks are aimed at "milking" Saudi Arabia, Tasnim news agency reported.

"Iran, fresh from real elections, attacked by @POTUS in that bastion of democracy & moderation. Foreign Policy or simply milking KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) of 480 billion U.S. dollars?" Zarif twitted on Monday, speaking of Saudi Arabia.

The remarks by Iranian top officials came in response to Trump's recent anti-Tehran remarks in Riyadh and his arms sale deal with the Saudis.

During his visit to Saudi Arabia on Sunday, Trump called on the regional countries to isolate Iran which, he said, had "fueled the fires of sectarian conflict and terror."

Also, the U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Saturday that he hopes the re-election of Rouhani would prompt changes to Tehran's approach to "terrorism and human rights."

Tillerson urged Iran's re-elected president to dismantle the alleged "network of terrorism" and to end ballistic missile tests.

He made the remarks at a news conference with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir in Riyadh.

On Monday, Rouhani, however, said that the Islamic republic will continue to test its missiles anytime if there is a "technical need," and it will not seek the permission of any other country to do so.

"Our missiles are for defense and peace," Rouhani said, adding that the U.S. expectations from Iran to halt its defensive missile program is "an illusion."

On Sunday, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Brig. Gen. Massoud Jazayeri, refuted the comments by the U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson for urging a policy shift in Tehran's conduct during President Hassan Rouhani's second term.

The only way to peace in the Middle East is a pull-out of the U.S. forces from the region, Jazayeri said.

In the reaction, Jazayeri urged the United States for what he called an end to the "aggressive and terrorist operations against independent states" by the assistance of "reactionary regimes" in the region.

Besides, no factor could hinder Iran's defense programs, he said, describing the boost of Iran's missile defense systems as a top priority for the Islamic republic.

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